After attempts by the Office of State Ethics to get information about unvested stock options held by Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade’s husband fell flat, the commissioner announced Thursday that she would recuse herself from review of the Anthem-Cigna merger.

Wade, a former Cigna executive whose husband still works for the Bloomfield-based insurer, said her role has continued to be “mischaracterized” and the steps she’s taken to avoid any conflict have been “highly politicized.”

“This controversy created unwarranted and unfair distractions for the department, despite no conflict of interest,” Wade said in a statement Thursday. “It is for these reasons, should the federal lawsuit be resolved and the merger proceedings resume including the Department review, I will recuse myself from the Anthem Form A application.”